The present invention relates to a hearing aid/spectacles combination. The present invention also relates to a spectacle arm, a processing unit and a reproduction unit intended for a hearing aid/spectacles combination.
Such a hearing aid/spectacles combination is disclosed in International Patent Application WO 99/21400 and can, for example, be used as a hearing aid for a person hard of hearing.
WO 99/21400 discloses a combination of two earphones and a pair of spectacles that is provided in the left and right spectacle arm with several microphones positioned some distance apart. In use, these microphones register sound signals from the surroundings. The combination is furthermore so equipped that a direction-dependent version of the sound signal is determined for the sound signals picked up in each microphone in the right and the left spectacle arm, respectively. These direction-dependent sound signals are transmitted to the two earphones, so that for a user who has placed the respective earphones in his or her left and right ears a sound pattern is produced that concentrates on the sound in the direction of view and also describes the direction-dependence of the sound signal, based on the principles of binaural sound reproduction.
However, it is a problem that the combination of the state of the art takes up a fairly substantial volume in order to accommodate the circuits for the functions that are needed for signal processing and reproduction, as well as the power supply for these. The combination is thus relatively uncomfortable for a user, for example a person who is hard of hearing, to wear.